The rapid development of mobile phones and other types of computing devices has significantly enhanced people's ability to communicate. Many people choose to communicate with others throughout the day via telephone, text messaging, and social networking. The omnipresent ability to communicate has provided many benefits, including an increase in productivity and socialization.
However, as often happens when rapid technological advances occur, the social norms for communicating have not kept up with the ability to communicate. The ability to communicate around the clock or otherwise use a mobile computing device at substantially any location does not necessarily infer that it is proper to do so. Mobile computing devices can often cause disruptions in conversations, meetings, classrooms, and social activities as phone calls, voice mail, and text message alerts are received. These disruptions can reduce the effectiveness and interrupt the flow of the environment in which they occur.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.